Dark Shadows of My Past
by chocolate365
Summary: There's a new kid at school with his sights firmly on Ilana. Why, the team doesn't know. Is this new kid really attracted to her? Or is he a monster? Either way, he's really creepy. And is Lance...jealous? Please R&R. IlanaxLance and NewtonxKimmy.
1. Just Another Battle

Okay, first Sym-Bionic Titan fanfic…kind of nervous on how you'll like it. I am a HUGE Ilana/Lance fan, so expect that. Now here we go! Oh, wait…Disclaimer: Don't own Sym-Bionic Titan, obviously, but kudos to whoever does! I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY CANCELED IT…meh, but what can you do? Anyway, on with the show! Uh, story, fanfic, whatever…

Dark Shadows of My Past by chocolate365Ilana's POV

"Lance! Lance, where are you?" I cried. Where was he? Isn't he my protector? "Lance! Please, where are you?"

"Ilana!" I heard him screaming. "Oh, dear Lord, Ilana, come here! Where can you be?"

"Lance! Lance, here! I'm right here!" I shouted, frantically waving my arm. He finally spotted me and threaded his way through the frantic crowd to me. "Ilana, are you all right? Where's Octus?"

"I'm fine, Lance, but I don't know where he is. I haven't been able to find him. I was trying to find the person who decided he had to go to the bathroom for the seventh time since the assembly started," I huffed. I tried to give him the evil eye, but I failed miserably.

"Well, sorry. Assemblies are boring," he said with a shrug. "Besides, I didn't think an alien would attack while I was in the bathroom during a school assembly!"

I sighed and changed the subject. "We need to find Octus. We need to form Titan and save all these innocent people."

"I know," he said. "However, since we don't know where he is, that means we can't form Titan and you're in danger. We need to go someplace safe."

"La-ance," I sighed. "We talked about this. You can't keep babying me. You know I'll just run off and fight by myself…again."

He balled his hands to fists. He knew he was caught and was about to lose this argument.

"There you two are. I've been looking for quite some time," Octus said. The school was now deserted, and Octus had shut down all the security cameras, so he was in his robot form. "Shall we form Titan?"

"Yes. We need to help those people. Hurry, Octus," I said urgently as we transformed.

We went to the center of the city. The ugly alien hadn't destroyed much, and we needed to stop it before it did any more damage.

After just a slice of a sword, the monster was destroyed. People thronged on the streets to celebrate. We flew off to the woods to transform back.

We trudged through the streets back home quietly and entered our home. Octus flipped on the news to listen if there was any severe injuries or deaths. I couldn't bear it if there was. It was my fault these creatures were coming, after all.

I walked up to my room, a happy, cheerful refuge from the awful monsters that hounded my nightmares. Images of my father being tortured and of course, General's evil eyes glaring at me with hatred.

I took a quick shower and changed into my yellow pajamas. I combed my wet hair and blow-dried it. Quickly I brushed and flossed.

I walked over to my bed and sat. I pulled out a scrapbook I'd been working on ever since we'd arrived on Earth. My armor could take pictures, and I'd been taking regular pictures with my camera. Every page had a different battle on it with all the aliens we'd fought. Every few pages there were good pictures. One of us at the mall…us going to the local zoo…Lance performing with his band…Lance and me at prom. I carefully pasted pictures of our recent battle and carefully filled in at the bottom information about the monster and how we'd beaten it. I vowed that someday, when everything was back to normal, Lance, Octus, and I would flip through these pages together and remember all that time we shared on Earth.

A quiet knock on my door startled me. I quickly closed the book and put it in the drawer of my bedside table. "Come in," I called.

Lance entered, looking tired but concerned. "Are you okay, Ilana? You were pretty quiet after the battle."

"I'm fine," I sighed. "Just…tired, that's all."

He studied me. He wasn't buying it. "Really? You'd tell me if something was wrong?"

"I—I…well…" Dang it. He knew I hated to lie and I never did. I couldn't promise that and then he'd know something was wrong! I gave up. "Yeah, there is something wrong, Lance."

"What is it?" he asked concernedly as he sat next to me. I remembered briefly that this was the same guy who never spoke except to give orders or scold and did nothing but glare at me the first week we were here. I never saw him smile until almost three weeks after we got here. I was glad he was finally opening up to people.

"I've been having nightmares," I admitted. "About my father, and the monsters, and…" My voice trailed off to a whisper. "The General."

Lance's eyes turned to stone. He hated the General deeply. Even more than I did, which is saying something.

"Ilana." He hesitated. "I don't want you to suffer. If there's—anything I could do…to help you just let me know."

"Well, there is one thing I'd like to hear," I replied. "But I probably won't hear it ever."

"What's that?" He asked eagerly.

I blushed. "I'd like to hear you laugh," I admitted. "I've seen you smile, but never laugh. It would…make me feel good."

He seemed to think about this. "I don't know if I can," he sighed. "I haven't laughed in…in a while."

"Could you try?" I whispered.

Slowly he smiled. "Okay, Ilana," he said. "For you, I'll try to laugh."

He tilted his head back and swallowed. He wet his lips and made several noises. His face went white as he struggled. I watched in fascination and finally blurted out, "You look like you're in labor, not laughing."

Finally, he did it. He let loose an unexpected bark of laughter that warmed me inside. In fact, he threw his head back and practically howled. Soon I was laughing with him, and before he could see my camera, I snapped a picture of him.

Slowly we calmed down and composed ourselves. He was still grinning. "I think that's the first joke you've made that's actually funny."

I pretended to be offended, but he just rolled his eyes. "There. Is that better now that you've heard my laugh?"

"Yes," I replied. "Thank you, Lance."

"Good-night," he called over his shoulder as he left my room. I smiled and flicked off my light as I snuggled into bed.

"There's only one monster that will do the job," the General growled. "Send the Tempter."

"Yes, sir."

"He will finish her off," the General mused. "No girl can resist his tempt…not even her, Princess Ilana."

"Of course, sir. You are a genius."

"I know," he mused. "I know."

Well? How was it? First chapter, I guess you want to know what the Tempter is…please R&R to find out!


	2. New Kid

**Lance's POV**

I grinned, as Ilana pretended to still be angry about my comment last night about her jokes. She was terrible at being angry and her lips kept quivering into a smile.

As we walked to school, a casual smile kept playing on my face. I wasn't sure why. Ilana just made me so…happy. No one had ever made me so happy before, except my father. He was gone, though. Octus and Ilana were my family now. I hoped I could forget the dark past and move on.

"Lance? Why are you grinning?" Ilana's voice jarred me back to reality. I looked at her and managed to keep my cool. "No reason. I don't know."

She laughed. "You're very hard to figure out, Lance."

I shrugged.

As we walked up to the building, we passed a couple of girls. Kimmy was among them. "I'll see you two after school," Octus told us as he left to join her.

We kept walking and went by a huge group of cheerleaders. I braced myself for the flirtatious glances and giggles that were sure to come my way.

Surprisingly, they didn't seem to notice us. I heard a quick sample of their conversation.

"No way! He looked at you?"

"Yeah! He's so dreamy. What girl wouldn't like him?"

"Dude, I so am going to ask for his number. Do you think he's got a girlfriend? I want him so much!"

"I think he's available. What girl is worthy enough to be his girl?"

Ilana didn't seem to notice the conversation, and I shrugged it off. It was just another gossipy session about some guy by the girls.

However, as we entered the building, I noticed something strange. All the girls were acting weird. The boys were acting perfectly normal, goofing around as usual. All the girls were in some sort of trance, wandering around with glazed eyes and distant looks. Some were repeating some person's name over and over I couldn't quite hear.

Ilana noticed it, too. "They're behaving funny, Lance," she said with a frown. "That is, funnier than usual. I'm worried."

"Me, too," I said. "It only seems to be affecting girls."

She rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine, okay? I can take care of myself."

Octus walked over, looking vaguely angry and disturbed.

"What's wrong, Octus?" Ilana asked.

"Kimmy didn't pay much attention to me and she kept going on about some new boy. I don't like it."

"All the girls are acting like that, Octus, not just Kimmy," I told him. "It seems to be some sort of trance."

"Look! That must be the boy they keep going on about," Ilana whispered.

We turned and saw a guy with breezy blonde hair and a perfect tan walking down the hall. He was tall and athletically built. As he got closer, I noticed his eyes. They were bright blue. Almost…abnormally bright blue. They seemed almost to glow.

All the girls melted as he walked past, and adoring eyes followed him, even from girls with boyfriends. I looked at Ilana. She had a slightly puzzled expression on her face. "He is strange. That's for certain." Octus whispered.

As he came by, he stopped. He looked at Ilana. He stared at her for a little while. Then a polite smile crossed his face. "Hello," he said in a sort of seductive tone, "I am Terrell. Who might you be?"

"I'm Ilana. This is my brother Lance and Newton."

"Hey, you're the guy who was with the redheaded girl, Kimmy," Terrell commented. "Is she your…girl?"

"Yes," Octus said stiffly.

"Awesome, dude. What about you?" he asked me in a joking tone. "You got one?"

"No," I said monotonously, carefully moving an inch closer to Ilana.

"Too bad. I'll bet your sister's got a guy, though. She's very pretty."

"I don't," Ilana said with a hint of disgust in her voice. "Excuse me, I need to get to class."

"Want me to walk with you to class?"

"No, thank you," she said dismissively and started walking away.

I stayed back, glaring at Terrell. His eyes followed Ilana. When she disappeared, he turned to me.

"Dude. Your sister is gorgeous," he said. "I mean, she makes me feel shakes inside. Don't you think she's beautiful? I want her."

"Well, she's not yours!" I snapped as I stalked away. I was angry. I tried to tell myself it was because I was worried the girls' trance wasn't normal, but I knew that wasn't true.

Class was torture. I was hounded by the scary thought that maybe Ilana was falling into the same trap every other girl was. I couldn't let that happen.

I was so relieved when Ilana was waiting for me outside the door to the school. She looked angry and upset about something, though.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Terrell," she growled. "He followed me around all day. He seems to have every class I do. He was constantly annoying me about everything."

"He likes you," I grunted. "All the other girls would do anything to be you right now."

She allowed herself a smile. "I just want him to stop. I don't have time for a boyfriend."

For some reason this comment made me feel something stir inside me. It felt like sadness. I wasn't sure why. Actually, I knew perfectly well why.

We were walking home by ourselves because Octus, as Newton, was walking Kimmy home. She seemed to be less in the trance than the other girls. At least she could have a rational conversation without murmuring Terrell's name over and over and look at you straight without getting all glazy-eyed.

Ilana was staring at the ground. She was troubled about something bigger than Terrell.

"Is Terrell the Terror getting to you?" I tried to joke.

A smile flickered on her face and disappeared. "I can't think why, but I keep thinking about Prince Simon."

"Simon?" I asked. "The boy you really liked that you never saw again because his planet had a civil war?"

She nodded. "I stopped thinking about him after two years of waiting for him to come back." She blinked. "I thought he liked me. I found out that he'd married a different princess, Princess Maria. I was heartbroken for a time," she admitted.

"I never knew that about you," I said with some mingled surprise.

Ilana's lip quivered, but she forced a smile. "I was so sad for a while. Then I went to visit them. Maria was an acquaintance of mine. They looked so happy and loved each other so much. Simon never dreamed he'd hurt me. I couldn't stay angry. I saw how…joyful…they made each other. Simon had known her a lot longer than me. I got over Simon because I didn't want to hurt their marriage. They were perfect for one another. I…I could only hope that someday I'd find someone to love even more than I did for Simon. I wanted to be like Maria."

My eyebrows lifted in surprise as I listened to Ilana's heartfelt story. I couldn't help but to wonder if Simon knew how lucky he was, having two girls like him. Before coming to Earth, girls never wanted to be even seen around me. They thought I was a creepy little jerk. So I learned to hate and avoid girls. They'd yell and call me names. Well, until I met Ilana, that is. She was different than the other girls. She was willing to give me a chance…after we got to Earth. She didn't want to leave with me, but that was understandable. I wanted to stay and fight, and I was angry that I had to go protect some silly, girly, little princess.

Ilana wasn't silly or girly. Well, sometimes she could be a little girly, but she was a seasoned warrior and stood up for what she thought was right or worth her time. She opened up to me and became my friend, my first real friend, one that would never leave or betray me. I learned to respect her as an individual and like her for who she was. I had learned a lot about her, and she'd learned a lot about me. She realized just how much I craved a real friend and offered her friendship.

My eyes lifted to Ilana's. She was wiping her face. "Sorry, Lance. We'd better get home." Her face brightened. "There's a new recipe for cookies I want to try." She looked at me hopefully. "Will you help me?"

I opened my mouth to give a gruff "no", like I was used to. I got caught up in her big, hopeful brown eyes. I relented. I couldn't say no to Ilana anymore, not after all she'd done for me just by accepting me the way I am. "Sure, Ilana. It'll be…" I tried to find the right word, and ended with, "interesting."

She beamed. "Thank you, Lance!" Then she tackled me with a hug, but pulled away just as quickly. "Let's get going, then! It'll be so much fun!"

Ilana's old, bubbly self had returned, and any thoughts of Prince Simon were pushed aside…for now.

"Master, it's not working. For reasons I don't understand, she can resist me. How, I don't know. She wasn't even glazed over when I offered to walk her home, and she turned me down flat! I upped my Tempt scale, and girls around me fainted, but she gave me a look of disgust and left! How can she do that?"

"Princess Ilana is strong," General mused. "Stronger than I anticipated. But she's not strong enough. We will just have to target her weakest points."

"How, Master?"

He grinned. "I have a plan."

Oh, cliffie! Please R&R to find out more!


	3. Ilana's Nightmare

**Ilana's POV**

"Lance! Help! Help me!" I cried. I was hanging for my life on the edge of a cliff. I felt my fingers slipping.

Then I saw General Modula glaring at me from the top of the cliff. "He's not coming, Princess," he said icily.

"Wh—what?"

"You thought he cared about you, didn't you?" Then he started to laugh, a deep, evil laugh that shook my bones.

"No! He cares! He promised to protect me!"

General looked at me in amusement. "You thought he loved you? He was fulfilling his obligations to the king. He was fed up with you. I offered him a much more satisfying position on my army…and that little robot of yours? He's currently in 231 pieces!"

"No," I gasped. "Lance would never—"

"He doesn't care about you, girl!" General hissed. "It was his job! Now he's much happier, on my side, where he actually gets recognition, not squeals from a little princess."

Then Lance was there, looking at me with dulled eyes. "Lance," I pleaded, "help me. You care about me."

"No," he said flatly. "I don't."

I felt my heart break as he stamped on my fingers and watched with a pitiless look as I plunged over the cliff, screaming and falling, falling, falling…

_Wham!_

"Ouch!" I cried out, opening my eyes. I found myself on the floor next to my bed. It had been a dream. A nightmare. I'd fallen out of bed. It wasn't real.

Then my bedroom door flew open, and Lance rushed in, registering me lying on the ground, shaking, covered in sweat. "Ilana, are you okay?"

I opened my mouth to tell him I'd just had a bad dream, I was fine, but instead I burst into wrenching sobs.

He knelt and carefully gathered me into his arms. "Ilana. What happened? Were you hurt?"

This just made me cry harder, remembering the evil Lance in my dream that hadn't cared he was killing me. This Lance was the total opposite. He was worried about me. I recalled General's words. _You thought he loved you…_

I sniffled. I did? I thought he loved me? Did I love him? I shook my head to clear it. This made no sense.

Lance hugged me tighter. "Ilana, please tell me what happened."

"It—was a nightmare," I whispered hoarsely.

"What happened in the nightmare?" he asked gently.

I remained silent. I couldn't tell him. I just…couldn't.

He picked me up. "Do you think you can go to sleep now?"

"Please stay," I whispered. "Sit next to my bed and stay until I fall asleep. Please."

He nodded and gently put me back to bed. He pulled a chair up next to the bed and sat there. I felt myself drifting off. My eyes closed. Before I wholly fell asleep, though, I felt Lance's fingers pulling my hair away from my face, stroking the side of my face. I fell asleep contentedly.

**Aw, just a cute little thing on Lance & Ilana, I thought it really beefed up their relationship. Please R&R!**


	4. The Prankand jealousy?

**I'm dedicating this chapter to my first reviewer, T-REX MASTER. You're awesome, and thanks for the praise. I debated whether I should continue this story, since I was getting NO reviews…*coughs*…except yours. So thanks so much, it's thanks to you this is continuing! I hope you like it, I added a bit more LancexIlana fluff.**

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**Ilana's POV**

The next morning, I woke up and found Lance passed out on the chair, slumped over with exhaustion. I giggled. He looked silly.

I snapped a photo of him gleefully. Oh, he'd kill me if he found out! Then I got a great idea. I hurried downstairs and pulled the whipped cream out of the fridge. Then I hurried back to my room and plucked a feather out of a fluffy hat Kimmy had bought me.

I poured the whipped cream into his right hand and giggled again. I started tickling Lance's nose with the feather. "Lance," I said in a lilting, singsong voice, "wake up. It's time to get up."

He rolled his head from side to side. "Ilana," he groaned, "stop. Stop it."

Then he slapped at the feather, and I pulled it away just in time to watch gleefully as Lance got a face covered in whipped cream.

"What the…?"

It took him a minute to realize what was going on, and then he shouted, "Ilana!"

I laughed and ran. He chased me around the room, making monster noises as he chased me, but he was actually laughing. When he grabbed me, I squealed and tried to wriggle loose, but it was no use. He was much stronger than me.

"This is what you get for pranking me!" he laughed as he tickled me.

I shrieked for mercy. Finally we collapsed on the ground, laughing. I turned my head, giggling, to find that our faces were only inches apart.

I blushed.

Lance pulled himself up, mopping the whipped cream out of his hair. "I better go shower," he commented, poking me. I laughed. "It was just there, Lance. I had to prank you. The opportunity was sitting right in front of me."

"Don't make excuses. I'm still mad at you," he told me, rolling his eyes, but I could see the suppressed smile playing at his lips.

After he left to get cleaned up, I got up and went downstairs, still in my pajamas. It was Saturday. I was glad I didn't have to put up with Terrell all day long again.

I was munching on a bowl of cereal at the bar in the kitchen when Lance walked in. His hair was still damp, and he wore his usual dark T-shirt and pants. His hair was messy and he brushed it over with his fingers, causing it to flop over like it usually did. All traces of whipped cream were gone.

He pretended to glare at me and went to fix himself breakfast. I'm warning you, don't ever look directly at Lance if he's giving you a death glare, even a pretend one. It's scary. I hunched over my cereal and acted meek.

Then we both heard a knocking at the door. I frowned. "Who could that be?"

"I don't know. Stay here and I'll answer it," Lance commanded. I stayed put, mostly because if I disobeyed, I would get the killer death Lance glare, which actually made me scream one time.

I listened as Lance opened the door. I could hear the disbelief in his voice. "What are you doing here?"

"I came by to see Ilana," a sickeningly familiar voice droned. I buried my face in my hands. No way was I going to see Terrell the Terror on a Saturday.

"She's not up yet," Lance smoothly lied. I could hear the suppressed disgust and anger in his voice. He must be mad that I seem to have a stalker, which makes protecting me, and forming Titan, much harder.

"I'll wait for her in your living room until she gets up." Obviously this guy didn't understand the term _unwelcome._

"No. Good-bye, Terrell," Lance said, shutting the door in his face. I looked in amusement. I heard Terrell splutter, "No, dude, you can't keep her to yourself, I—"

Then the door slammed shut and Lance stood there with a satisfied look on his face.

"That guy is a creeper," I stated, laughing quietly.

"I don't like him," Lance growled. I smirked.

Just then, Octus walked into the kitchen. He took a look at my amused face, then Lance's angry one, picked up a banana, and left.

"Um, so…" I tried to think of something to say.

"I'm going upstairs," Lance said gruffly. I sighed as he left.

**I'm crying as I finish this chapter. Sure, it's cute, but it's SO SHORT! I'm apologizing to all you people reading this. I'll try to make the next chapter longer, I promise. Oh, and I have a little quiz for you…**

**What do you think should happen next?**

**Terrell puts Ilana in a trance and she dates him, and strange stuff happens (surprises!)**

**Ilana doesn't date Terrell and resists him more, which drives him to desperate actions…**

**Please R&R! In your review, answer my poll.**

**I'm OUT y'all!**


	5. The Dance

**Hey, I'm back, and here's a new chapter of DSOMP. The title will start making sense in later chapters. So this chapter I decided Ilana will start cracking under Terrell's powers, but the question is…can she keep resisting him? Well…yeah. She's Ilana. I took the advice of T-REX MASTER. This chapter's again for you! **

**Lance's POV**

I was growling as I walked into school the next Monday. Terrell wasn't anywhere in sight, which was good. I needed to stay away from him, because when he looked at Ilana like that, I wanted to throttle him.

Wait, why would I want to do that? Was I…no, I wasn't! I couldn't be…

"I'm NOT jealous!" I burst out loud. Ilana looked at me queerly.

"Um, Lance? What are you talking about?"

"I, uh, um…I'm talking about—the people in…yearbook. I'm not jealous of them with all this stuff coming up."

Ilana's eyebrows lifted, but she didn't say anything. I knew my excuse was lame.

Just then, we heard a massive squealing erupt from down the hall.

"The dance! THE SPRING DANCE! It's here!" A gaggle of giggling girls (say that five times fast) were coming down the hall, their faces lit up.

"Terrell! I want to go with Terrell!" one girl squealed.

"NO! Me, I want to!" another argued.

The two girls started bickering, and one smeared the other with lipstick drawn from her purse like a sword. The other dug out a hair curler (why do they carry those around? All my friends do) and prepared to fire.

Before the wild over-sized Barbies could fire, Terrell walked down the hall.

They immediately snapped to attention.

"Hey, there, beautiful," Terrell said.

Six girls fainted.

"Hi, Terrell," Ilana finally said.

"So, Ilana…" he said. "About that dance coming up…"

"What about it?"

"Well, I think we should go together."

"NO!" screamed a girl, and she literally attacked Ilana.

I thrust out my arm just in time to send her reeling back. Ilana stared at the girl in shock.

"C'mon, Ilana," Terrell coaxed. "Why not?"

Suddenly, Terrell's bright blue eyes started glowing. I mean, abnormally glowing. Ilana's face suddenly turned snow-white. She trembled.

"I…I—"

Ilana fell. I caught her just in time and stared suspiciously at Terrell. His eyes looked normal, and I frowned. Had I imagined it?

Ilana's eyes were fluttering. I scooped her up in my arms.

Terrell looked at her. "Is she okay?"

"Back off," I hissed, and turned on my heel to take her home.

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"Master, I just cannot reach her! What shall I do?"

General frowned. "You must get her to that dance. You have to take that girl to the dance."

"Why?"

General's eyes glittered. "So we can get rid of her, once and for all…"

**Again, I'm so sorry this is short! I just wanted to end with a cliffie! Please forgive me! The next will be much longer, I promise! R&R! PLEASE REVIEW! I will be your friend…**


	6. I'm Going with Him

**Hey everybody! I'm alive! I'm so sorry for being late…anyway here's the next chapter. This is sorta just a transitional chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Sym-Bionic Titan. So there!**

**Lance: Good.**

**Me: Grr. Shut up. Or I'll kill you in the story.**

**Lance: No you won't.**

**Me: GRR! You're right, you have to live! But consider this a warning…**

**Lance: I'm so glad she doesn't own me.**

**Lance's POV**

When Ilana's eyes fluttered open, I leaned over her expectantly. Her eyes were glazed and far away. "Lance?" she mumbled. "Is that you?"

"Yeah. Are you okay?"

Slowly she sat up. "I think so. What happened?"

My eyes narrowed. "You passed out when Terrell looked at you and asked you to the dance."

"Oh, really?" she asked offhandedly. "Well, I'm fine now."

Her legs swung around and she hopped off of the bed. She reached for her jacket.

"Ilana! Where do you think you're going?" I jumped up after her.

She was humming to herself. "I'm going to find Terrell."

"Why?" I asked, surprised.

Ilana gave me a strange look. "I want to go to the dance with him, silly."

"WHAT?" I shouted, causing her to jump up in shock.

"Lance, what are-"

"You can't go to the dance with him! Ilana, there's something strange about that kid. You told me you didn't like him!"

"I know," she replied coolly. "I need to go with him so I can find out more about him. This is my only chance to find out what's so weird about him, Lance. Will you just trust me?"

I looked at her tired face. She was sick of Terrell. She wanted to put an end to him following her everywhere.

So why did I still feel that wrench in my gut?

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**Ilana's POV**

My legs trembled in fatigue as I walked up to the school. My eyes darted around, looking for a certain blonde.

I really didn't want to do this. But it was the only way I could finally get Terrell off my back.

"Ilana!" As usual, he'd spotted me before I saw him. It was actually kind of creepy…

"Hey," I said as he trotted up to me. "Listen, Terrell, about me going to the dance with you. I-"

"You'll go with me?" he asked, suddenly looking anxious. "Please, Ilana, you have to say yes."

I cringed at the desperate look in his eyes. "Uh, yeah. I'll go with you."

"Really?" his eyes lit up. "Excellent."

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It is done, Master. She suspects nothing."

"Really?" he asked, stroking his beard. "_Excellent."_

**Hey guys! Hoped you liked! Sorry for late update! I'm a really crappy updater, so expect late updates from now on! Really sorry! Anyway, you know the drill. Press the little blue button to get the next chappie sooner! Also…I'm sorry for the shortness, but it's more of a transitional chapter. Anyway, REVIEW!**


	7. Dress Shopping and New Friends

**Ilana's POV**

I trudged unhappily into the dress shop. Yeah, I was shopping for a dress. For the dance. Groan.

I lifted a pretty satin dress and examined it. If I had to go on this awful date, then I was going to at least wear something nice.

"May I help you, miss?" I heard someone say. I lifted my eyes to come face-to-face with a girl I faintly recognized.

She had long, curly brown hair, blue-green eyes, freckled skin, and she was really tall and willowy. She grinned in a friendly way at me.

"Hey," she said, "I recognize you. You're Ilana Lunis! I take Calculus with you."

Then I placed her—the quiet girl that sat behind me in Cal. "Oh, um, hi."

"I'm Tawnie," she offered, stretching her hand out to mine. "Were you looking for a dress for the dance? I work here."

I gladly took her hand and noticed rather pleasingly she had a firm handshake. "Yes, I was just looking at this one," I replied, lifting the satin gown.

Tawnie studied it critically. "It'd look good on you," she said slowly, "But it's rather pricey, and there's others I think would look even better."

I grinned at her and set the dress down. "What do you recommend, then?"

Tawnie beckoned me over to a different section and grabbed five or six dresses. "Here," she said, smiling. "Dressing rooms are right over here."

A half hour later, we were like best friends. Tawnie was funny and she was a lot like me. I liked her. I had finally picked a beautiful deep blue gown that hugged my curves perfectly and I knew looked really good on me.

Tawnie smiled as she rang up my purchases. (I had to get matching shoes!) "So…who are you going to the dance with?"

"Oh. Um, Terrell," I muttered.

She didn't seem fazed. "Cool. You've got a brother, right? Lance?"

"Yeah, speaking of which—" I started, but just then Lance came in. Tawnie quickly put my gown in a bag so he wouldn't see it.

"Ilana, how long does it take to buy a dress?" he asked, clearly annoyed.

I laughed with Tawnie. "Sorry. We were busy picking the perfect one."

Lance glared, but I smiled and batted my eyelashes playfully, and he softened. Finally, he chuckled. "Okay, okay, you're off the hook…for now."

"Yes! Thanks, Lance!" I squealed.

**Lance's POV**

"Yes! Thanks, Lance!" Ilana squealed. I just rolled my eyes.

"Hey Lance, this is Tawnie. She helped pick out my dress," Ilana said, indicating the brown-haired girl behind the counter she'd been talking to.

"Hey," Tawnie said, waving.

"Hi," I replied.

Ilana smiled and said, "I gotta get to the coffee shop before they close! Come on! See you later, Tawnie!" Then she sped right out of the door.

My eyes followed her fondly, and when I turned back, Tawnie was grinning. "She's not really your sister, is she?"

I was taken aback. "What? Yes, she is!"

"No, she's not," Tawnie said decidedly. "In fact, I believe you, Ilana, and your friend Newton are the three aliens responsible for Titan."

I gaped at her, then my eyes narrowed and I leaned across the counter. "If you're a Mutraddi, I—"

She held her hands up in surrender. "Whoa, whoa! I don't even know what those are! I'm not stupid, Lance. I can't believe no one else has figured it out. It's pretty obvious. What Earth girl asks what high-heels are?"

Tawnie did have a point.

I leaned back, studying her. She looked me straight in the eye unwaveringly. "How did you know?"

She shrugged. "I put two and two together. Just like how I just now realized you have a crush on Ilana."

That sent me reeling. "I do not!"

"Yeah, right," she replied, rolling her eyes. "Listen, I don't know where you all are from, how you got here, or why you're here. But…I won't tell anyone, if that's what you're worried about."

"Oh. Um, thanks, I guess." I muttered.

"When did you plan on telling Ilana?"

I jerked my head up. "I—I'm not. I just…she's going to the dance with Terrell. I just know something bad is going to happen."

"Well, you need a date to go."

"Yeah…hey, will you go with me?"

Tawnie's eyebrows lifted. "Sure. I'll help you keep an eye on her. I don't really like Terrell all that much."

"Really? I thought all the girls were madly in love with him."

"Nope," Tawnie replied with a shrug. "Listen, I need to get back to work, and you need to find Ilana."

"Right," I said. "Meet me at my house the night of the dance."

"Seven?" she asked.

"Perfect," I said.

"Good. See you," she told me, waving as I started off.

"See you," I called, waving to Tawnie as I ran out of the shop and toward the coffee shop.

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**Oh. **

**My. **

**Freaking.**

**Gosh.**

**I.**

**Am.**

**So.**

**So.**

**So.**

**Sorry!**

**I know, I've been gone forever. You guys were probably convinced I'd given up on the story. BUT I HAVEN'T! If you read my profile, it clearly states I will finish all stories.**

**I just was, erm, well…procrastinating.**

**Plus I had major writers' block. I hate it. It's the worst disease ever!**

**But anywhoodles, thank you guys so much for sticking this through.**

**Special shout-out to T-REX MASTER! Thanks for reminding me this story still exists! Gulp.**

**To everyone reading this, keep going! I get a tingly feeling every time I hear about someone reading my stories.**

**ALSO—BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY ILANCA SYM-BIONIC TITAN ONESHOTS! I'm making a ton, and I love them!**

**I still don't own anything!**

**What'd you guys think of Tawnie? Bad? Awful? Amazing? Nothing's going on between her and Lance. She's just helping him out.**

**Bye now.**


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